


Infinity Train: Knight of the Orange Lily

by Green_Phantom_Queen



Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Be Careful What You Wish For, Character Study, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Deconstruction, F/F, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Flowers, For Want of a Nail, Forgiveness, Gen, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Language of Flowers, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Not My Fault, Prequel, Psychological Horror, Quests, Siblings, Slow Build, Trains, Trapped
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:00:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27959549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Green_Phantom_Queen/pseuds/Green_Phantom_Queen
Summary: [Set during Episode 55 of Pokémon Sun and Moon]Gladion sacrificed everything in order to get stronger. To stop Nihilego. To save his sister.His sister responded not with thanks or worship or praise. But with orange lillies to his face.And so he left in anger and hurt, wanting to prove that he deserved to be the hero in her eyes...Only to find himself on a quest throughout an infinitely large train and facing some very painful truths that he wanted to toss into the darkness.
Relationships: Burnet-hakase | Professor Burnet/Kukui-hakase | Professor Kukui, Gladio | Gladion & Lilie | Lillie, Gladio | Gladion & Lilie | Lillie & Lusamine, Lilie | Lillie & Mao | Mallow (Pokemon), Lilie | Lillie/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 23
Kudos: 20





	1. Gladion and the Wolf / The Pearl Gates Car

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set after Book 2 of Infinity Train and in the middle of Episode 55 of Sun and Moon.
> 
> Timeline of the story should end around Episode 87 -- Gladion returning during the Necrozma arc -- so most stuff with the Ultra Rangers will be glossed over. This is more of a focus to build up on Gladion and have Lillie learn to forgive and bond with her mom.
> 
> (Aka I feel like Gladion is the bad guy for not helping his sister sooner)
> 
> The story is a prequel to "Blossoming Trail" so Ash will not know of the Train in this story. And before you ask, there WILL be references to this story in Blossoming Trail but they'll be minor.

_After seeing how people have loved Chloe’s trip on the Infinity Train, I began thinking to myself (and I’m sure everyone has also) if other characters from Pokémon who got on the Infinity Train before or if there’s a possibility that they could’ve entered it._

_And after thinking it over, I realized I had the perfect person for this: Gladion._

_If you have not read my rant in Chapter 12’s author notes of “Infinity Train: Blossoming Trail”, I ranted how Gladion was apparently the hero of the story in regards to his sister’s trauma and Lusamine was the wicked mother. But in reality, Lusamine was in the dark and felt guilty for not doing more, while Gladion_ knew _what Faba did and_ said nothing _until the last minute. If Gladion went and told his mom, there would’ve been a way for Lillie to gain some treatment and be on the road to recovery. But did that happen? Nooooooo._

_So here I have been pondering why Gladion would do such a thing and how he needed to face the truth that all of Lillie’s trauma is his fault. Sure Faba and Nihilego were what triggered it, but Gladion’s reluctance to do anything aggravated it. And he had the gall to blame_ Ash _for making Lille go back to square 1_?!

_So yeah, for those who know how much I treated Goh, let’s just say that they’ll know what’s coming for this edgelord._

_Timeline-wise, this story will start sometime during Episode 55 --- the night before Professor Burnet and Kukui’s wedding -- and will be more of a character focus on Lillie and her mother. It also will fix some aggravating issues I have with some characters -- Faba -- and perhaps put more focus on others that I felt needed more exposure (Mallow). Since Gladion doesn’t return till Episode 87, this is the perfect time to figure out where he’d been and he went through while the Ultra Power Rangers went and did their thing._

_As for everything else; well that will depend on you. Again, any car and idea is welcome to the story._

_And as for “Infinity Train” timeline wise, right after Book 2 but_ way _before Book 3 even starts. Whether Grace or Simon will be the main antagonists is up in the air, but it won’t change much in the long run._

_And with that, it is time for the knight to begin his quest._

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Infinity Train: Knight of the Orange Lily**

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**A Pokémon / Infinity Train Crossover**

**By Green Phantom Queen**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Prologue**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Gladion and the Wolf**

**Or**

**The Pearl Gates Car**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_“Once upon a time, there was a boy with eyes like the first leaves of Spring._

_“The boy lived with his mother and little sister and they were happy as can be in their small home. The mother always warned the children to never go into the woods alone, for Until one day, while they were playing catch with their favorite ball, the girl entered the woods to retrieve it. The boy followed her, like good brothers did only to find that she had been taken hostage by the fearsome King with No Name._

_The boy chased after the girl and, while he was not able to stop the King with No Name, the King let his sister go but not without some scars in the process._

_The girl was no longer able to approach the darkness without fear of it devouring her in her sleep. She would scream at night from the nightmares that clawed at her waking hours and she hated looking at the woods, afraid that it would swallow her whole._

_Their mother did not pay attention to this at all, mostly because she was never told of this at all. All the local healers and wisemen gave powdered herbs and other medicines that would make it easier for the girl to sleep but not cure her phobia of the darkness. And the boy watched how his sister suffered and knew he had to do something._

_So in the middle of one night when the moon was waxing, the boy gathered as much food as he could and set off into the woods to find the King with No Name and demand that this monster leave his sister alone._

_But here is the thing you must know about quests._

_They suck._

_No one likes to talk about the long, long journey it takes to fulfill the quest. No one wants to recount the monsters that were slain, the nights sleeping in the cold and rain, how the people on the quest probably starved to death or suffered from horrifying wounds without a medic in sight._

_And in the end, the boy’s attempts to become a knight to protect his sister were all in vain._

_Because if he had taken the path of the child and told his mother what had happened, none of this quest nonsense wouldn’t have happened. His mother would have been able to understand what was wrong with her daughter, and the girl would’ve slowly learned to become brave and strong, and not be afraid of the unknown._

_But alas, boys try to become men without taking the painful yet important steps in their transition into adulthood as if they can just take a simple shortcut to awaken into a body with more experience and strength on their side._

_For when the boy finally reached the area of the woods to where the King of No Name lived, he found out a horrible truth when he somehow found himself at the beginning of his quest, and his sister crying over his unmoving body._

_He had died a fool and the King with No Name was plenty quick to mock the boy’s foolishness._

_But the boy would not accept the King’s words that it was the boy’s fault for this tragedy. Instead, the boy opened his mouth and said that he will save his sister from the King’s influence, no matter how long it took._

_The King took up on that offer and before the boy could blink, he found himself awake in the forest once more. He looked around; he wasn’t dead, and his sister wasn’t crying over his corpse._

_That thing with the King and his sister had to be a dream...yeah, that was it. The King was crafty and his magic powerful._

_But the boy was determined to not fall for those tricks and he began to set forth on his journey through the woods anew._

_And he continued to chase after the King with No Name, forever hoping to become the knight to save his sister from her nightmares, unaware that this dream would never ever be fulfilled._

  
  


**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The sky looked so beautiful tonight.

That’s what Gladion said to himself as he stared at the blue sea stretched out before him and the stars above his head glittering like diamonds. Umbreon stood by his side, also basking in the glow of soft moonlight shining down on it.

It was over. The nightmare with Nihilego and Ultra Space. After all this time, his sister was free from the trauma and could truly love Pokémon. Everything he did was worth it; the years he sacrificed to get stronger, the battles he fought. All to get revenge on the Ultra Beast that traumatized his sister.

A part of him wondered if it was all worth it. After all, he had to leave his family behind, leave Lillie all by herself. The progress she made was good, thanks to Ash.

But...could it have been stopped sooner? Could Lillie be better off if all that was needed was to make her remember that Silvally, back when it was still Type: Null, was trying to protect her from Nihilego? That if Gladion actually approached his sister then none of this would have happened?

No, this was for the best.

Even _if_ Lillie was healed of her trauma, that wouldn’t mean that Nihilego couldn’t return. That thing would’ve returned and wreak even more havoc and there would be no way to stop it. Gladion had to get strong to protect Lillie. Had to make sure that he could be the hero in her eyes. To make sure no one could hurt his sister again.

To make sure he never showed any signs of weakness ever again.

As he walked across the white sandy beach, he noticed that he wasn’t the only one out late at night.

“Ash…”

“Gladion!” Ash gasped and Pikachu cried his name. “Oh you’re just in time! You see, Professor Kukui is getting married to--”

“I’m sorry,” Gladion interrupted. “I’m heading off on a journey.”

“What?” asked Ash. “But, why?”

Gladion sighed, remembering the battle, remembering Ash and Pikachu fighting off against the Nihilego that possessed his mother with seven rainbow colored lightning bolts.

“I’m going to embark on a journey to complete the Grand Trials,” Gladion explained, the waves crashing down being the only noise in his ears. “That Z-Move you and Pikachu unleashed...I had to do more. I had to be more.”

“Gladion…”

Gladion closed his eyes. “Give Professor Kukui and Burnet my thanks. I’m heading off now.”

“Wait, Gladion!”

Gladion and Ash turned to see Lillie approaching them, Snowy by her side. Lillie’s hands were behind her back and although she was smiling, Ash couldn’t help but see something was...off about it.

“You’re heading off so soon?” asked Lillie.

Gladion nodded. “Yeah. I have to get stronger. I wasn’t much help against Nihilego, and everything I did all these years were for…”

“No, it wasn’t for nothing,” said Lillie. “Here, a going away present. We had a lot of leftover flowers for the wedding decorations.”

She brought her arms out and showed off a pretty bouquet of flowers wrapped in black tissue paper and a red ribbon. Gladion narrowed his eyes at them.

“What...are these?” he asked.

“Gladiolus flowers,” Lillie answered. “Mother said that she was looking at these flowers blooming when she thought of your name. Don’t you like them?”

“...they’re orange,” Gladion noted.

“Yeah, that’s such a pretty color!” Ash pointed out. “Like the sky when the sun starts to set. Isn’t that romanti--”

“What are you trying to say, Lillie?” Gladion interrupted, glaring at his sister.

“Nothing much,” Lillie answered before her voice dropped to a hiss. “Except that I just realized how you essentially left me behind all these years to get ‘stronger’.”

Ash blinked and Pikachu looked confused. Snowy whimpered in concern as Lillie’s eyes hardened into an icy glare.

“I had a good reason for it! I needed to be strong enough to protect you!” Gladion shouted.

“I needed _you_ more than anything!” Lillie snapped. “You left me all alone without any way to figure out my problems. My memories were locked and _you_ were the one with the key to help me remember them!”

“I couldn’t just show you Type: Null without you freaking out!”

“But you could’ve said something!” Lillie retorted. “You said nothing, you didn’t even tell Mother about what happened. And then you _left_ me alone to fend for myself! Left me to have to work my way through my trauma. If it wasn’t for Ash, I wouldn’t have even made any progress.”

Ash gulped, seeing the lightning bolts spark between the siblings. “Lillie…”

“I don’t have to hear any of this,” Gladion muttered, grabbing the orange lilies. “I’m just glad that this is all over.” 

“Glad that I’m all right, that Mother is recovering, that karma finally caught up with Faba, that Nihilego can never hurt us again or that you can stop playing pretend of being a knight in shining armor?” Lillie responded, her voice as cold as Snowy’s Powder Snow.

Gladion bit his lip, recalling that tale of the girl who went through the mirror. Of the white knight on his Rapidash who fought off his blood-red foe. He wanted to be that character -- okay, maybe not like the character who was bumbling and seemed to not put connections together -- but he wanted to be someone who could save people.

Or at least, someone who can protect his sister.

Gladion swiped the hateful bouquet out of his sister’s hands and walked off, Umbreon not far behind.

“Gladion, wait!” said Ash. “I’m also taking the Island Challenge. So...when you finish it, let’s have a battle.”

Gladion stopped walking, but then decided to not respond at all. He just continued walking, not wanting to let anyone show how was close to screaming and howling to the sky like his Lycanroc would.

…

…

…

  
  


“I don’t get it,” said Ash as he, Pikachu, Lillie and Snowy left the beach. “Why did you two start fighting over a bouquet of orange lilies?”

“Ash...do you know what it means when someone gives you an orange lily?” Lillie answered.

“No.”

“When you give someone an orange lily, it represents how you have strong feelings for someone. Very strong feelings that you have to express.”

“What do you mean? Like how you give roses to someone you love?”

“Somewhat…”

“Really? What do they say?”

Lillie grit her teeth as she forced the words out of her lips.

“To give an orange lily is one of the most powerful messages you can deliver to a person. One that you hope they get the message loud and clear. And what I meant to Gladion, I meant it from the bottom of my heart….

“’...I hate you’.”

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Gladion curled his hands into fists as he walked across the beach, stuck in his thoughts. How dare Lillie give him these flowers. Orange gladiolus lilies. To be mocked at by given orange, the color of hatred by his own flesh and blood hurt more than when Faba attacked him with Alakzam or when Nihilego trapped Lillie in the first place.

What would she know? What would she know about his suffering?! Of the days he had to train, the nights he slept in hotels? How he battled trainer after trainer in order to become stronger? 

Gladion grit his teeth, having half a mind to chuck the flowers into the ocean, hoping that they would be the perfect offering to the dead. How could Lillie betray him like that? How could his own _sister_ say such a horrible thing?! She should be grateful! After all, it was thanks to him that Lillie could remember the truth. If not, Lillie would never recover from the trauma caused by Faba.

He felt frustrated. His reward for all of this was his sister being ungrateful and slapping him across the face with these lilies. Well fine! If that’s how she wants to play this, then he honestly would like to go on a a never-ending quest and actually _be_ a knight than just “play pretend”.

As he mulled on the idea of going on this quest, he noticed a bright light and the whistle of a train pierced the crash of the waves and gentle night breeze.

Gladion gasped; trains don’t exist in Alola. And he’s too far away to be at any location where a train would be. So how was he hearing such a thing?

He turned and watched as a large black _train_ somehow traveled across the sea in front of him. Green lights flashed from behind its windows, and a door opened with a soft hiss.

“Umbreon, return,” said Gladion, returning his loyal Dark-type Pokémon into its Poké ball. This was already suspicious. Why was there a train resting on the sea only for him? Did anyone see this? Were there any Alolan myths about something like this?

This felt too good to be true. He had to be dreaming...this couldn’t be happening.

Yet the light within the Train beckoned to him, making him feel so calm and light-headed. It was soothing and maybe it’d be okay to see what was inside for five minutes. There was no one here for miles, no one here to spoil his fun.

Gripping onto the bouquet of orange lilies in his hand, Gladion approached the train and grabbed the outer rail, still unsure if there was a single soul who didn’t hear the train appearing in the middle of nowhere and were racing out to see what the noise was about. He took a deep breath and smelled the salty air as he peered inside, hoping to get a look at what could be inside this Train. 

There was nothing. Perhaps he had to get a little bit closer?

Gladion placed his foot on the bottom step. All he saw was light.

…

…

…

He woke up to a painful white light piercing through his head.

Gladion groaned, feeling like had been tackled by Lycanroc. The Rock-type was very affectionate when no one was looking, sometimes tackling Gladion to the ground and wanting to be given scratches and play fetch with a ball. But he recalled that Lycanroc hadn’t been let out of its Poké ball for a while.

He slowly sat up and placed a hand on his forehead, trying to recall what happened after that Train appeared. But the light was making his headache worse .Having no choice but to open his eyes, Gladion looked in awe, fear, confusion and shock at what he saw.

In front of him was a large gate made of pearls. A heavenly light shone from within, beckoning him to enter. He could hear music, a choir of angels calling out to him and horns blaring out a triumphant ballad. The floor was made of fluffy clouds and he could smell incense smoke off into the distance.

Did he...did he just die? Did this train take him to the afterlife?!

Just before he could question that he had died via train, of how his last words were how he lashed out at his sister, he was interrupted by a loud and chipper voice.

_“Welcome aboard, new passenger!”_

  
  



	2. The Goose Girl / The Pearl Gates Car Pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladion enters the first car on his journey to be a knight.
> 
> While Mallow recalls a memory of an adventure she went through many many years ago.

_I’m giving a shout-out to the troper known as FoominBlue for being my cheerleader and editor for the tvtrope pages for Blossoming Trail and Knight of Orange Lily. They gave me a great idea that, for those who watched Book 3 of Infinity Train, will probably make you tear up a little…_

_Or a lot._

_Also, super sorry for this one being delayed. “Blossoming Trail” took a lot of time and creative energy, that and my online semester is over for one. So here’s the new chapter._

_Also from this point forward, chapters are mostly focused on the Infinity Train instead of Alola, barring additional scenes I wish to expand on Lillie. Remember that Gladion returns for the Necrozma arc, so he’ll leave the Train eventually._

_….Eventually._

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Chapter 1**

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**The Goose Girl / The Pearl Gates Car Pt 1**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_“Lillie, are you serious?!”_

_Mallow looked in shock when she saw the bouquet of orange lilies in her friend’s hands at Aina’s restaurant, the two having eaten some Alola barbecue for dinner consisting of two bowls of rice for each, a cup of macaroni salad and type of protein (Mallow had loco moco_ , _while Lillie opted for fried shrimp). Snowy looked in curiosity at the flowers’ vibrant hue, recalling her Vulpix sister in Samson Oak’s care (and wondering how she was doing, if Samson held her tight like Lillie did or at the very least was being treated kindly)._

_“Do you know what it means to give someone orange lilies?” Mallow continued. “How could you give your brother such a thing?”_

_“It’s quite simple, Mallow,” Lillie answered. “It’s just a visual way for me to express my feelings for him.”_

_“But why would you hate him? Didn’t he leave home and train in order to help you?”_

_“He did train, but he left me behind in the process,” Lillie said with an icy glare, grasping the bouquet with a grip that could break the stems off. “He knew all along what happened to me. He could’ve told me or Mother about what happened that night and yet he kept it secret just to justify his desires to be a shining knight on a white Rapidash, sword in the air as he cut the head of the dragon off, or to slay the evil witch.”_

_“It was for a good cause...”_

_“For him it was!” Lillie snapped. “He didn’t want to be my older brother; he wanted to go on some grand quest and made it an excuse to leave me behind.” Tears began to form in her eyes. “I needed him, Mallow. I needed someone to help me remember…”_

_“Lillie…” Mallow whispered. “I know you’re hurting, and you have every right to be angry with him. But…”_

_“But what?” Lillie hissed. “Should I just bury the hatchet with him? Just_ forget _what he did like I forgot the incident that caused all of my traumas?”_

_“No, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t let go if you’re not ready to or if you don't want to. I just want to warn you about what you’re about to do,” Mallow placed her right hand over her heart. “If you do this, you’ll end up doing something you’re going to regret later. And it’s probably going to send you or Gladion into a really bad place.”_

_Lillie blinked, not sure where Mallow would get such a thing. Most of the time, Mallow acted like the mother hen of the group. But the look in her eye right now showed that there was something deep within that she wasn’t telling anyone. Lillie noticed that, in the time that they have known each other, Mallow never ever mentioned what happened to her mother. And there were no pictures of this woman either, leading Lillie to consider the worst._

_Something happened to Mallow’s mother which ended in tragedy, that was clear. What that was, it would’ve been rude for Lillie to probe into._

_But this was a different matter altogether, that Lillie knew for sure._

_“Then that’s something I’ll have to deal with on my own,” Lillie replied. “After all, I already felt like I was living in a bad place with how he was gone and my relationship with Mother wasn’t perfect.”_

_They said nothing as they finished their meals. Then, Lillie left to be taken back to home, leaving Mallow to help serve more meals and clean up the restaurant when it was closing time. After everything was finished, Mallow ended up going to her room with Steene close behind. Mallow flopped onto bed, staring at the ceiling as the warning she gave Lillie rang in her mind._

_The bad place Mallow wasn’t talking about was Lillie’s mindset. It was a_ literal _bad place. A place with an orange sky and a wasteland that stretched out for miles. But there was no way that Lillie was going to believe any of_ that _for a second._

_With a sigh, Mallow turned to her beloved Pokémon partner, the same one whom her mother captured so she wouldn’t be lonely. Who had been there for the good times and bad._

_“I really hope this doesn’t lead to what happened to us,” Mallow said as Steenee crawled into bed. “You remember that, right?”_

_“Steenee…” The Fruit Pokémon replied, crawling towards the bedside table and opening the drawer. She rummaged around until she found a charm bracelet made from dark green string and beads shaped like pink flowers. Steenee then placed it by a framed photo of Mallow, her mother and Steenee herself back when she was a Bounsweet._

_Mallow rolled onto her stomach as she took the bracelet into her hands, something that she made herself when she got to school for arts and crafts. She never wore it; it was only there as a reminder of the trials she faced. A small yet sad smile formed on her face as she stared at two green number beads in the center. “44”._

_Most children would usually spell their name on a bracelet like this, or perhaps say something like “I Love You” or “Friends 4EVER”. But for Mallow, the number was there for two reasons._

_First, it was the age when her mother passed away._

_And the second?_

_It was the number that burned on her palm when she and Bounsweet woke up on a large wood boat carved to look like she was riding on the back of a kitsune, dressed in silk and drifting across a river of almond milk after running away from her mother and saying how much she hated her._

_Those would have been the last words Mallow would ever say to her mother before she was sucked away by a giant train that appeared in front of the hospital, and the last time her father would see her and Bounsweet in nearly three months. In those three months, they explored places that could only be found in picture books: they slipped through clear tubes on their bellies, they rode on cats the size of horses who ate tuna sandwiches on toast, they took a boat ride where they could dunk food into a large river of gooey cheese and dipped graham crackers into fountains that were filled with melted chocolate. To some children, this was paradise. And it was for a short time. But the more Mallow stayed on the Train, the more she missed her family._

_And the number on her hand acted funny. Some days it grew big, some days it grew small. She didn’t know what it meant, and feared the worst when it dropped lower and lower. However, it was in the last car that had her helping a bunch of teddy bear pirates find their most important treasure, where she finally decided that she was ready to go home. And with that declaration, her number was zero, and a door opened up for her, leading her to the front of Aina’s Restaurant where she opened the door to declare that she was home.._

_Her father and brother immediately brought her inside the minute they saw her enter the restaurant, then fed her an Alolan barbecue plate with short ribs and three glasses of Pinap juice. They asked her what happened, but Mallow never told them. Who would believe that a_ train _appeared in front of the hospital and she, in her grief and anger, entered it? She just told her concerned father and older brother that she had no idea how far she ran, except that she was long gone from her family. And after going to a doctor to get the whole story and to ensure she wasn’t damaged in any way, they never brought it up again._

_It had been almost five years since Mallow returned home. And she made sure that all the drawings and the diary that detailed her experiences with that mysterious train were never revealed. Not to the students at school, not to her father or brother, not even to Lana. Only she and Steenee knew what happened, and they thought that they were the only ones who dreamed of such a thing._

_And that’s what made Mallow nervous. What if that Train could pick up_ other _people who ran away from home? What type of strange lands and creatures would they meet? How long would they traverse through the Train’s multitude of cars?_

_Mallow had no answers to that, but she had a lot of concerns for both of the siblings. She knew that Lillie would be fine -- after all, Lillie mended fences with her mother and was now able to connect with Pokémon more. But Gladion? Gladion traveled and went by himself. So the chances of him being kidnapped by that Train had increased substantially._

_And the worst part was that neither Lillie nor Lusamine would have any idea that he had gone missing, nor would they know how_ long _he’d be missing or that this was all because of some otherworldly Train._

_“Steenee…” Steenee whispered as she emitted a sweet aura to help Mallow fall asleep. Mallow’s eyes started to slide shut as her head hit the pillow, but she was still able to hum the first lines of a lullaby that kept her strong during those lonely lonely days on the Train._

_“Don’t need to worry baby,_

_No need to hurry baby_

_When you’re with me…”_

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_“And remember, you can’t spell ‘escape’ without ‘companionship’.”_ said the white sphere, One-One in a chipper voice, on the screen. _“Oh wait….companionscape?”_

Gladion frowned, having to have listened to this video about how he got on this strange ‘Train’ and the way he could get home: get his number all the way down to 0 and he’s gone forever.

He stared at the palm of his right hand, where a bright green _197_ stared back at him. Why the number was the National Dex number of Umbreon was beyond him, but that was the least of his problems.

He placed a hand on his hip and was relieved to have three Poké balls on him. He also checked his knapsack and found everything was in order: food, a water bottle, some money and, most importantly, all the Memories needed for Silvally to change its Multi-Attack. 

So, at the very least, he hadn’t been robbed of anything. Well, except for his chance to participate in the Grand Trials. 

Not to mention that _atrocious_ bouquet of orange lilies also came with him.

Gladion had half a mind to kick those flowers and hoped they dropped out of the sky or ground or wherever these gates were placed.

Or...perhaps he could prove his sister wrong with the lilies; that her hatred was unjustified, that his way was right. He would take the lilies as his symbol and prove to himself a knight of legend. That would show her.

With a grunt, Gladion picked up the bouquet, stood up and left the pod, trying to understand that this _Car_ was replicated to look like the gates of Heaven. The gate itself was made of gold and stationed on top was an angelic figure made of pearls with clear blue eyes.

**State your name.** The figure stated in a cold clipped voice, staring down at the boy.

“Gladion,” Gladion answered swiftly. He wasn’t going to show any ounce of fear. After all; he fought off the terrors of Ultra Space without flinching; what’s this angel going to do to him?

**What reason have you come here?**

“....Why not?” Gladion replied with a glare.

**…Reason accepted. Welcome, Gladion.**

The gates slowly opened and Gladion had to bring his arm back to shield him from the light. When the light faded, Gladion took a few steps forwards and found himself in an idyllic town.

He wasn’t a big believer in the afterlife -- mostly because he’s not focused on things like that -- but he would admit that the car was _exactly_ like he’d heard or seen. White marble houses, flowers as pure as snowflakes, pretty snow-white birds...it was literally a paradise.

But the people were what concerned Gladion. 

They looked peaceful in their home. Walking across the perfectly white sidewalk, gathering fruits, picking flowers, some children were throwing balls and frisbees with one another. But it was the way they _looked_ that disturbed him. 

Instead of the angels he had imagined in his youth -- pristine white tunics, golden glowing halos above their heads, feet bare across the cloudy floor -- they all looked more like statues than anything he could’ve ever imagined. Their movements were jerky as if watching someone slowly adjust their bodies to move one step at a time. Their smiles looked too big. Their limbs were elongated to the point that it was making him feel so insignificant to them.

And most importantly, their bodies and face were smooth and glossy like pearls. 

It was like looking at a living art exhibit. The way these...denizens moved about with their dresses and shirts flowing and rippling behind them water down a river. They all looked so unnatural that it made Gladion feel slightly disoriented.

“What is this place?” he whispered. He couldn’t quite process what was going on; he wasn’t dead, and he wasn’t in heaven. He was somehow on a _Train_ and this car was said to replicate what he knew about the pearly gates.

How...was that possible? And how was this going to help him either a) drop his number or b) prove that he was a noble figure?

“Welcome guest,” A melodic voice announced, causing Gladion to momentarily snap out of his thoughts. He turned to see a woman, probably the head of the...Car, wearing an elegant black dress with butterflies fluttering at the hm crafted from shards of mother-of-pearl. Her hair was tied into fishtail braids with pretty black pearls woven inbewteen the strands. Her eyes were a mixture of blue and purple, but they were nothing but loving. This “woman” spread her arms wide as if to envelop Gladion in a motherly embrace. 

“I am Margaret, and I am the leader of this humble town,” She greeted.

“P...pleased to meet you, Margaret,” Gladion replied, somewhat struck by this...person’s beauty. She had a calm and radiating personality, like a mother. 

At this, he briefly recalled the memories he had back when he was still an innocent child. When he, Lillie and Lusamine…

He shook his head. No, he wasn’t going to think about those thoughts. The days of innocence were gone now, like words written in the sand. 

Margaret giggled. “You must be quite hungry after waking up in a strange place like this. Come, I shall take you to my house and you can tell me your history.”

“Uh…” Gladion began, unsure what was the right etiquette in a place like this.

“Don’t be shy, love,” Margaret pleaded, extending her hand out. “You have no idea of the dark and scary things that this Train has to offer. And I love having company.”

“W...well...I guess I could stay a while,” Gladion replied, doing his best not to see into those empty white hollows that were Margaret’s eyes.

“Splendid!” Margaret exclaimed, clapping her hands together once. “Now come, come my pretty little seashell, let the beauty of our village wash over you!”

With a twirl that let the skirt of her black dress flow out like spilled ink and her hair to sparkle like diamonds, Margaret led Gladion across a path paved with glittering lapis lazuli stones streaked with gold. As Gladion followed her, he couldn’t help but notice that this was an awkward way to begin his quest. 

But, if this was like the start of every story where a boy becomes a knight, this was a good sign. Not all knights started off with a holy sword or a prophecy handed out to them. Some of them are met with kind figures to house them and then they would be on their way. This was just a different beginning, but the ending was the same. He'd end upon a journey and become a true knight.

And yet...he couldn’t help but be a _little_ bit paranoid with the situation.

After all, if there was something he learned thanks to Faba, he shouldn’t immediately trust people with humongous smiles.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Ash should’ve been asleep at this point.

But hearing Lillie describe what orange lilies made him mull over just how little he knew about this entire situation regarding her and her family..

Of course, that was to be expected. Lillie had had this phobia for far longer than he had been in Alola. If she had no idea what went wrong, there was no way _he_ could’ve been able to fix it. All he could do was just give her some baby steps, but it was Lillie herself who took the initiative to overcome her fears. And Ash was happy at how she came so far: for someone who couldn’t stand when a Pokémon cuddled her, she would risk her life to protect Snowy and go on a dangerous journey just to save her mother from an Ultra Beast.

So it just made Ash all the more confused as to how Lillie, who once worshipped her brother, could immediately give Gladion such a cold shoulder for all that he did to help her. 

But then again, it did seem a little unfair that Gladion blamed Ash for having Lillie regress back to the state she was before. How was Ash supposed to pinpoint just _what_ made Lillie terrified? He wasn’t a mind reader or psychic!

At the very least, he couldn’t do anything about it now. Gladion was gone on a journey, Lillie wasn’t in the mood to talk and Ash himself had to get up bright and early to get Professor Kukui ready for the wedding tomorrow.

  
  


Hopefully he’ll never have to worry about a situation like this in a long while.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

“I’m so happy you came here. What do you think?” Margaret questioned as she and Gladion were in her parlor. It was bright, with a chandelier made of white coral, and pearl-white furniture. Everything was white, so white that it felt like Gladion’s eyes were going to burn. He focused on the bowl of soup he was given: vichyssoise in a bowl shaped like a large seashell, along with slices of fresh bread for dipping. Angelic harp music could be heard off in the distance, played by another pearly figure who wore a circlet that looked like musical notes on five thin silver wires.

“This is...nice,” said Gladion, not remembering how long it’s been since he had something so delicious. He usually had bread and milk or whatever he could buy that was either on bulk or cheap so that he still had enough money for hotels and other necessities. He took another spoonful to his mouth as Margaret smiled.

“I just _love_ housing passengers who come by this Train,” Margaret replied as she nodded to a large cabinet behind Gladion that was filled with decorative knick-knacks. “It gets lonely sometimes.”

“Do you have any children?”

“Me? No,” Margaret sighed, placing a hand on her stomach. “I am unable to bear children. So all I can do is hope that a passenger like yourself can come and I can house them for a while.”

“Oh, I see...well, thank you for your hospitality.”

“Always,” Margaret said. “Ah, I forgot the refreshments! Just wait here and I’ll be back soon~!”

Margaret stood up, her long pale legs making strides on the marble floor as Gladion set his soup down. He never liked cold soups. 

This was quite strange, like being back home with his family before everything came crashing down. And yet, this strange woman was much better at being a mother than Lusamine ever would. It would be wrong not to give her a gift, but he didn’t have much...except…

Gladion looked at the bouquet of orange gladiolus lilies in his hand, orange like Alola sunsets and orange of his sister’s anger. Well, he could have them placed here until he has to leave. The lillies wouldn't last long without water anyway. Just like his sister's hatred would fade away and she'll be back and feeling guilty for showing these flowers in the first place.

He turned and found there was no vase for him to place it in, but he did see a statue of a woman with her left hand out as if wanting to hold something in it. He looked down at the bouquet, and then back at the hand before standing up and approaching this statue. As if he was giving an offering to a deity, he slipped the flowers inside it so it looked like she was holding them.

“Here,” he said. “I think it brings a little color to the room, don't you think?"

He turned around and sat down on the sofa once more, going back to his cold soup.

And for the first time since she was sculpted, the statue...blinked.

…

…

...

“So then,” Margaret began as there were now more food on the table. Crackers with a nice tuna and herb spread. Black and green olives and cherry tomatoes that glistened like multicolored pearls “You’ve come here on a grand quest like the knights of old?”

“Correct,” Gladion answered, staring at the number on his palm, wondering what he would have to do in order to make it go to 0 . 

“Ooh, how splendid!” Margaret squealed. “Do you have a sword and shield? Do you ride on a mighty steed? Where is your armor?”

“I don’t...have those,” Gladion answered. “But I hope to act like the knights I read before, noble, chivalrous, honorable. Helping those who are in need.”

“Oh, I feel my heart fluttering at those soft words,” Margaret sighed, placing her pearly hands over her chest. She then went to the open bottle of sparkling red grape juice. “I propose a toast for your future journey,” she said, pouring the juice into two goblets that seemed to shimmer like that of the pearls in her hair and her body. 

“Oh no, really, I should…”

“I _insist_ ,” Margaret said. “And, just to make it even more special. Let me make the drink more...palpable."

Gladion watched as she plucked one of the black pearls in her hair and crushed it in her hands. Then, the leftover dust was sprinkled onto the goblets. The drinks flashed different colors: white -- black -- gold -- and then to red once more. The bubbles fizzed out and it seemed like a witch’s brew.

“Drink,” said Margaret, handing Gladion his glass. “To your success, oh dear knight.”

Gladion grasped the stem of the glass with his hand and the two _clinked_ their glasses. Gladion raised the goblet to his lips.

_“No...don’t…”_

But if Gladion could hear that warning, it was too late. He drank the sweet juice down without stopping...and when he finished his glass, it fell to the ground as his head started feeling heavy.

_“I...warned...you…”_

The lights above his head were becoming disorienting. He could hear the harp music become grating. He tried to stand up, but instead, he leaned forward.

“W...wha…” he whispered eyelids heavy as he tried to reach out for a Poké ball.

“Shh…” Margaret cooed, standing above him, her black dress like the shroud of death.A cool hand patted his head all while Gladion felt his body was scorching with a high fever. All of this from a glass of grape juice?! “Rest your eyes...all will be fine…”

That was the last thing Gladion could hear before everything turned black.


	3. The Snow Queen / The Pearl Gates Car Pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One week without Gladion as Mallow feels like the only person who actually is concerned for him...
> 
> While a statue is concerned about Margaret reuniting with her son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my partners crossoverpairing lover and Shadymissionary for helping me figure out an end goal for Gladion as now we know just what the central theme of this story is.

_ I am SO SORRY for how long to get this chapter up. Aside from “Blossoming Trail” taking up time, I was honestly stuck on how to proceed with writing Gladion. I didn’t want him stoic or chuunbiyou and figuring out a quest for him was quite difficult without treading the ground Blossoming Trail will walk on months later. _

_ So thank you crossoverpairinglover and Shadymissionary for giving me a template to work with this cause I had been stuck for  _ months _. _

_ Now a bit of info for this chapter: we’ll blaze through many episodes in order to streamline this but the main bulk takes place during Episode 59 (“Tasing the Bitter with the Sweet!”). Aside from that, we’re going to end the first arc for Gladion and get his denizen partner. _

_ Next chapter will be taking a different direction about the nature of the Train and the passengers in it...and perhaps foreshadow things that Chloe will be facing in her trek to topple a certain cult. _

_ So apologies again for how late this is (blame writer’s block, homework, Cookie Run and the military coup in the country I’m staying at) and let’s get started. _

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Chapter 2**

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**The Snow Queen / The Pearl Gates Car Pt 2**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet’s wedding went off without a hitch. 

Everyone was there -- well, everyone except Gladion but it’s not like  _ he _ cared for stuff like this -- celebrating this fine day of holy matrimony. Mallow remembered how the Ainu’s Restaurant did the catering and she was happy to make Alola barbecue plates for everyone.

Even the news of Lusamine requesting her, Ash and the rest of her classmates to help tackle more of these “Ultra Beasts” that could cause more harm to Alola, couldn’t keep her mind off of the idea of Gladion being gone and no one cared that he had gone missing.

It reminded her of a short story she once read. Where a robotic house kept doing its daily business even after a nuclear weapon incinerated the people who resided there. One part had the house recite a poem that explained how nature would continue its business if humanity bit the dust. That was kinda what everyone else was like right now; ignoring the possibility of a child missing for a blissful day of happiness after the hell that was Ultra Space.

(Even Faba was here, that fiend. But it seemed as if he had been completely humbled from his experiences. He should be lucky that his boss didn’t fire him on the spot for traumatizing her daughter and keeping it secret for years.)

Mallow did her best to ignore it even as Professor Kukui and Burnet kissed and she helped with catering and creating all sorts of Alolan Barbecue plates with grilled vegetables, rice, kalua pork, beef/chicken/salmon teriyaki, fried shrimp, macaroni salad. There were also traditional foods like laulau, lomi lomi salmon, poke and poi. Dessert consisted of Alolan pancakes drizzled with maple and berry syrup with a dash of whipped cream.

There was dancing and juice shared and Olivia got the bride’s bouquet. Even Nebby made an appearance before returning to Ultra Space once again. It should’ve been a perfect day, and to everyone except Mallow, it was.

But she had too much on her mind to lose herself in the festivities, and when they were finally over, she decided that she had to unburden some of it before he continued. Ulu and her father were cleaning up the dinner tables when Mallow spoke up.

“Uh, Ulu...Dad…” Mallow began, Stenee behind her. “Remember when I….vanished for three months after mom died?”

“How could we forget?” asked Ulu. “We checked security cameras, interviewed everyone who was around the hospital at the time. It was hard to do the funeral service without you.”

“Y...yeah, I guess it would’ve been bad... “

“Why bring it up now?” asked Abe.

“Well...I just...I haven’t been  _ honest  _ about what happened all those years ago.”

“You got kidnapped, you somehow ended up at our doorstep three months later, what’s so complicated about that?”

“Did it ever occur to you that I just arrived in front of the restaurant completely unharmed, not looking like I was covered in mud or starving?” Mallow exclaimed, wondering how her brother couldn’t see the big picture.

“Well, you did eat a lot of Alolan Barbecue…” Abe brought up.

Mallow sighed and shook her head. “That’s not the  _ point.  _ Don’t you find it odd that I somehow was at the front door to the restaurant even though there was no taxi or car to take me there? I had no money on me at that time nor would I know which bus would lead me home!”

“What are you getting at?”

Mallow groaned, looking at her sandals. “I...I have to confess something, and I need you to sit here and not leave until I explain  _ everything _ .”

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

“There you go, darling~” Margaret hummed, setting the blue seashell hairbrush down. She placed her hands on the person’s shoulders and stared at their reflections in the mirror. “What do you think, Dar?”

It had been a few days since her  _ darling _ had finally come home. Oh sure, he’d been quite the little rebel, almost a completely different  _ person  _ when he’d finally arrived. But Margaret was nothing if not patient. And there was nothing like good-old fashioned home cooking to bring her boy back home.

Then Margaret was hard at work at helping her son become readjusted to his old life at home. He had been going on tangents of seeing strange things, like a sea that sparkled like sapphires, beaches so white that they could blind you, and lush flowers and berries that popped with colors.

But those were just dreams she told him, wonderful dreams of wanting to leave home. But he wasn't  _ ready _ to leave home, not yet. He still had a long way to go before she would let him leave the nest.

Dar smiled and played with his light blond bangs, looking nice in his white tunic and the pretty pearl clasped in a wire shell. “I look  _ beautiful _ , mother.”

“And you’ll stay with your dear mummy forever, won’t you?”

“...Yes, yes I will.”

“Splendid!” Margaret squealed with tears in her eyes. “Come, come! We’ve got lots to! Today I am going to introduce you to the community; they are all excited to see you return safe and sound.”

“Really? Where could I have gone?”

“Oh...that doesn’t matte!” Margaret giggled, patting her son’s head. ”What matters is that you’re home to  _ stay _ .”

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

A week had passed and yet no one seemed to notice nor care that Gladion was gone, except for Mallow.

It had been quiet week, barring a shenanigan where the Jigglypuff with the marker/microphone from Kanto somehow hitched a ride back to Alola and ended up fighting off against Samson Oak’s Komala who  _ somehow _ doodled on Jigglypuff’s face while still asleep. And then there was that incident with RotomDex somehow swapping out with a Wash Rotom that took a long time for everyone to get the former out of the Pokémon Center.

Ok, maybe not  _ that _ quiet a week. Something always came up that distracted everyone.

Most of the time, everyone went to school, spent time on the beach, and even trained to become stronger. The fight against Lusamine’s Pokémon empowered by Nihilego was a wake up call for those not named Ash or Kiawe, since they were just lucky that their creativity was enough to fight back. And they somehow knew that future Ultra Beast attacks weren’t going to be pushovers from here on out.

Mallow tried to stomach her fears about the Train throughout all of this. No one was going to believe her if she said anything. No one seemed to be worried about anything that they couldn’t see right in front of their faces. 

She was hardly different in that regard, seeing as she had Steenee doing some practice against Ash’s Pokemon in the hope of being stronger in case of another major battle. On the one hand, if she was right, then there wasn’t a whole lot she could do anyway for Gladion and...on some level, he was better off  _ there _ than, say, at the bottom of the ocean or with a broken leg in the woods. If she got everyone looking and they found nothing no matter where they looked...things would escalate  _ fast  _ and  _ badly _ .

But saying nothing was eating at her like nothing else could. 

Steenee almost danced as she avoided Fire Fang and Tackle attacks from Litten and Lycanroc. It wasn’t either of them going at full throttle, but it was a gradually tougher dodge each time to practice her agility. 

At that, Mallow recalled one of the trials she had to face where agility was the only way to protect her from a bunch of Temple Guards.

...

_ “Bounsweet use Sweet Scent!” _

_ Bounsweet complied with a shower of pink pollen formed in the air just as a Temple Guard with a mask covered in feathers and a mighty spear in his hand lunged towards the girl. Mallow ducked at the last minute and raced towards the elevator and pulled the lever. Bounsweet hopped on Mallow’s shoulder as she looked up to something that was called the Viper’s Nest. _

_ When the elevator reached said room, filled with vines and baskets where these vipers rested, Mallow looked at a piece of wood in the shape of a heart on top of a closed basket and snatched it. There was a whoosh of wind as multiple doors opened and it felt like light shone within the dark room. Mallow didn’t care; as she and Bounsweet ran as if Temple Guards could pop out of the shadows and whisk her away. _

_ Through an observatory, a storeroom, suits of armor, Mallow ran as if she was going to be devoured by a hungry monster. Until she was tracing her steps back to the entrance to the temple, legs tired as she practically stumbled down the steps and collapsed on her back, in front of a giant stone head. _

_ She made it out, the amulet in her hands. “I...I made it…Mr. Olmec.” _

_ The eyes of the stone head glowed and for a moment, Mallow thought he was smiling.  _ **_Well done, Mallow. Now then, how do you feel?_ **

_ “Th-that was scary...is the rest of the train gonna be like this?!” Mallow sniffled as she sat up. _

_ Tuba smiled down at the little girl, patting her head. “Nothing is scary when you face it together.” _

_ Bounsweet agreed and nuzzled Mallow’s cheek. Mallow sighed as she waited for Olmec to continued. _

**_The road ahead will be filled with strange and unknown obstacles. But you must remember to have courage, trust in your allies and keep an eye on your number._ **

_ Mallow tilted her head as she stared at her right hand, still at 44. “Why though?” _

_ Olmec chuckled.  _ **_If I answered, then It’d ruin the fun, little one. Now then, as you leave, you’ll find a surprise waiting for you at the entrance. And good luck to you, Mallow Omao._ **

_ “Thank you Mr. Olmec,” said Mallow as she stood up with a big smile on her face. “It was scary but kinda fun being in the Temple!” _

_ “Bounsweet!” Bounsweet agreed as Tuba ruffled Mallow’s hair. _

_ The three left the temple and returned to the hallway where numerous passengers had previously entered the Temple to gather one of Olmec’s artifacts. Each artifact shone in a different colored light -- red, blue, green, orange, purple and silver -- and had a picture of the ones who obtained them. Mallow liked learning about the legends of ones that have yet to be recovered (like some sort of “Vessel of Solomon”). _

_ “Look!” Mallow gasped. “Tuba, it’s me!” _

_ Tuba turned and doing as best as she could with her eyesight, peered at what was in front of her. There was a photo of Mallow and Bounsweet and both of them smiled as they lifted an item into the air in victory. _

_ An Applewood Amulet. _

… 

“Something on your mind?” 

Ash startled Mallow from her thoughts, having left Pikachu and Rowlet to their own training battle to talk to her. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Nothing nothing nothing really...um…..” Mallow stammered.

Ash seemed to catch that she really didn’t mean “nothing” when she said nothing, so she let something out. Something she was sure he believed. It helped it was a truth, if just not the full truth. 

“It’s just….that big fight with Lillie and Gladion….” 

Ash looked uneasy on being reminded of that. 

“Yeah, that was a weird fight. I...I don’t know where all of that anger from Lillie came from. It’s kind of unlike her. Usually girls take a lot longer to just change like that. You think she’d going to be like that with everyone? I’m not sure ‘reverse-Misty’ Lillie is something I can handle.” 

Ash Ketchum, the one who liked to have battles with Tapu Koko, feared ‘reverse-Misty’ Lillie? 

“No... no I think that’s just a Gladion thing,” said Mallow, staring out at the waters and reminding herself of the boat on the milky river. “I’m more worried about Gladion himself actually. He’s been gone a while and...well, no one seems to talk about it.” 

Ash seemed to get what she meant, though his reaction wasn’t quite a ‘oh hey that is kind of worrying’. It was more the look Sophocles had when he knew an answer to a question. Which was a weird look for Ash to have outside of something involving battling. 

“Oh, that’s just being a trainer. When you’re on a Pokemon journey, you’re always traveling and don’t really stay in one place for that long. I’d probably be going all over Alola if I didn’t have the Pokémon School to go to everyday. That’s what I did in Kanto and the other places I’ve been.” 

“You think he’s just traveling across the islands  _ aimlessly _ ?” Mallow could comprehend a person doing that in Alola, but Kanto was  _ big.  _ So big she struggled to comprehend it when she tried to picture it. 

Did Ash really just  _ walk _ across it all with Misty and Brock? Let alone any of the other places Ash had been? No wonder he was so fit.

“Not aimlessly. Just in the general direction of a gym battle or something like that where you often got lost for a bit. Gladion’s probably just doing something like that.” Ash assured her. “When I get a chance to go battle a third Kahuna, I’ll ask and I’m sure Gladion was just working towards winning that trial.” 

Mallow really hoped Ash was right, and she doubted Ash was doubting he was right. Because that was the only scenario he could imagine for Gladion. She could imagine a very  _ different  _ scenario. One she hoped Ash never had to experience. 

“So that’s why you aren’t worried about him. But what about the others?” 

  
Ash opened his mouth, but he seemed to have no answer to that one. 

“Huh. Er, maybe they don’t really know Gladion enough to be worried about him.”

That was a mundane, reasonable, yet sad possibility. Mallow just sighed. Gladion  _ was  _ pretty closed-off in general, so it did make sense...maybe she could bring this up when they all met for lunch. It wasn’t like there would suddenly be something else to talk about...

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Dar was happily sitting by a wonderful garden, seeing the pretty flowers in their white-blue-silver glory. He smiled and looked at his reflection. These moonflowers were so bright and beautiful and made him feel so relaxed.

Mother was quite doting and sometimes a bit suffocating, but perhaps it was more because of how he just wandered off away from him for so long. She was caring, gave him food, checked up on him, told him stories. And yet...he felt like there was  _ more _ to him. More than just some boy trapped in a home bigger than himself.

_ “Hello there…”  _ A soft voice interrupted Dar’s thoughts, and he turned to see someone new had entered the garden while he wasn’t looking. He turned around to greet this new guest.

“Hello…” Dar replied. “Who...are you?”

The guest was a tall statue of a woman made from white marble. What would be considered her chest was covered in an old orange T-shirt with a faded black creature on it. A few letters could still be made out from it above the creature:  _ C m a lf-B d. _

_ “You may call me...Larkspur.”  _ The statue answered.  _ “I believe...these are...yours.” _

Dar tilted his head as the statue lady handed him something. Something bright orange.

“They’re so pretty…” Dar whispered, reaching out to touch them..

_ “They are... _ ” Larkspur answered, feeling her heart soar when these pretty lilies were given to her. To  _ her _ . Various...passengers came and went but no one ever gave her a present. Well, a long time ago, someone gave her this blouse. Lady Margaret hated it but Larkspur always wore it as a memento of the camper who once rested in the Pearl Gates Car. Leroy was his name. He used a sword made of a strange bronze that had an adjective before it. It wasn’t just bronze, it was...celestial? It could cut denizens but not that other passenger he fought here.

He had to use inhuman powers and his hands to beat that passenger. Just what type of people were they? Well, she never found out but she hoped Leroy made it out fine and grew up to have a family. 

Dar squinted. The flowers were very pretty, but there was something...something about them that radiated ugly feelings…

_ “I hate you.” _

Dar blinked at the voice in his head but he did his best to keep smiling. “Uh Larkspur? Who...who gave those to you?”

_.”..You did.”  _ Larkspur answered.

“But...I would never hate someone like you…wait…”

_ “These flowers...represent...hate?” _

Dar was trying to shake his head clear. “...no...where would I get these...why…flowers should make me...make me happy...Glad…”

_ “Glad that I’m all right, that Mother is recovering, that karma finally caught up with Faba, that Nihilego can never hurt us again or that  _ you can stop playing pretend of being a knight in shining armor?”

“I’M NOT PRETENDING!” Dar suddenly screamed.

“...Darling? Is everything alright?” Margaret asked, bringing a tray of tea and cookies for the two.

Dar spun around to face Margaret...his mother…

But no...his mother had long  _ yellow  _ hair and didn’t wear _ black _ .

“...Darling? Is this stranger hurting you…” Margaret asked, her smile big while she glared daggers at Larkspur. Larkspur stayed silent.

“N...no...M-mother,” Dar stammered, white eyes flickering with specks of green. 

“...I hope not. Let’s go home, darling. Where you’re  _ safe _ .”

_ Home… _ Something about that didn’t seem right...

“...has my s-sister come back?” Dar questioned, seeing a girl in a white dress and matching sunhat..

“Sister?” Margaret blinked. Then she let out a bubbly laugh as she set the tea and cookies down onto the glass table. “Oh  _ darling _ , you’re an only child!”

“No...I  _ had  _ a sister...she had your hair…”

Dar stared at Margaret’s locks. Wait...didn’t she have hair that was more...yellow?

“That’s quite ridiculous. There’s no one in this car like me, except...well, me!” Margaret said with a twirl.

“Y-y-you... **you’re not my mother!** ”

The other denizens also exploring the gardens stopped what they were doing and stared at Dar clutching his face. Margaret’s eye twitched before the smile dropped and she turned to Larkspur.

“You…” she hissed like a cat about to pounce. “This...is all...YOUR FAULT!”

_ “But...I…” _

“Not...another...word…” Margaret mocked as she knocked the lilies out of Larkspur’s hands. “Get out. My sight.”

_ “But...Lady...Margaret…” _

“This is all your fault!” Margaret snarled. “It’s because of you I lost him in the first place! And now you had to arrive here and…”

Margaret’s ranting was interrupted by a furious scream. Dar had torn off the thin coating of alabaster that hid his real skin, revealing a very furious boy with green eyes.

“How  _ dare  _ you do such a thing!” Gladion snarled, reaching for a Poké ball...but realizing that they weren’t on him. “Where are my friends?! What did you do to them?!”

“Wh-what are you talking about? Y-you’re friends are in the village-”

“Where’s my backpack?! My  _ clothes! _ ” No longer paying attention in his fury, Gladion was starting to tear at his tunic now…

“Darling...just-just calm down, I’ll get your backpack…” Margaret sped off, trying to salvage the situation, but Gladion stopped her before spinning her around punching her in the face.

A loud scream filled the gardens as Larkspur closed her eyes and clasped the gem over her heart. She rippled before vanishing in a blink of light before teleporting sometime later with Gladion’s backpack just as Gladion had thrown Margaret to the ground, panting for breath.

Gladion was ready to smash Margaret into rubble with his bare hands if he had to. This... _ witch  _ had stolen his memories away, locked him up like a porcelain doll, treated him like a damned  _ pet… _

But then a stony hand gripped his wrist from behind. Blinking tears from his eyes, Gladion turned to see that Larkspur had wrapped her hand around his wrist, and was holding just tight enough to keep him from moving again.

_ “That’s...enough.” _

“...Let go of me!” Gladion snarled, but the statue was unmoving. 

_ “Look...at her.” _

Gladion bitterly obeyed, staring down at the sobbing, broken Margaret. She had curled up into a ball and clutched her cracked face, shaking as tears ate at her stone skin…

“Dar...Dar...my Dar…” Margaret cried.

Gladion had seen this before. With his  _ real  _ mother after Father disappeared.

“Who was Dar?” he asked.

_ “Her...son.”  _ Larkspur answered.

Gladion could’ve guessed that much, but hearing it for himself...his hand slowly settled down, and Margaret started sniffling again.

“He wanted to go exploring...these...these  _ horrible  _ people found him and...I never should have let him leave...I’m so sorry, I just wanted him  _ back… _ ” __

Gladion slowly regained his breath, closing his eyes and letting Larkspur release him. He didn’t like Margaret, but the idea of someone hurting a child was absolutely  _ cruel _ . “Where are they? What are they called?”

_ “The...Apex…”  _ Larkspur answered, handing Gladion his backpack.

“And they just go around destroying lives? For what?!”

_ “For...strength. For...power. For...thrills.”  _ Larkspur noted sadly.  _ “No one knows...where they...came from. All they know is...destruction.” _

“And I’m going to stop them.” Gladion declared. Like a knight would.

Larkspur’s eyes seemed to raise.  _ “They are...many. You...are just...one boy…” _

“Oh, I’m not alone.” Gladion smiled as he made sure that everything was in the bag. He then retrieved a red-and-white ball from his backpack and tossed it up into the air. “For I have with me my trusty squi-”

Gladion’s dramatics were derailed by Lycanroc tackling him to the ground and furiously licking his face, utterly relieved that his trainer was alright.

“Hey! Stop! Come on! You’re ruining my moment here - HEY!”

  
Lycanroc was swiftly joined by Umbreon and Silvally who licked and cuddled and nuzzled Gladion in a way that made him laugh helplessly despite his desperate attempt to look impressive.

“I-I-I am ahahaha kni-hi-hi-hi-hi-hi-ght!” Gladion said, trying to take a deep breath in between bouts of laughter. Other denizens were quite curious at the creatures, but none of them were brave enough to approach them.

_ “These are…”  _ Larkspur muttered, staring at Silvally’s head and how it reminded her of the helm of knights that traversed the land on their crusades to slay evil..  _ “...Denizens?” _

“N-no...they’re Pokémon,” Gladion said, standing up as Lycanroc hugged him. “They’re from my world...and when they’re not  _ embarrassing _ me, they are battling alongside me. They are going to help me take down this ‘Apex’.”

The three mons moved away from Gladion although Lycanroc really wanted a scratch behind the ear. Larkspur stared at the three with their dark eyes and strange features. Such a strange collection of friends to have.

_ “The Apex are...many. Although..” _

“Although?” Gladion repeated.

_ “I heard...rumors...that someone with those...Pokémon…encountered them before.” _

Gladion looked surprised. So the Train had visited his world before; he wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that his mother didn’t know about this. “And?”

_ “He...failed to stop them... from hurting him and... his friends. He was...injured and the Apex...continues.” _

“...Well,  _ I _ won’t fail.” Gladion boasted. “I’ll tear them down with my might and make them pay.”

_ “Then I...suggest you... wait a while.” _

“What for?”

Larkspur chuckled and pointed to the tattered fabric scraps by her feet.  _ “You tore off...your clothes... during...the scuffle.” _

That was when Gladion and all his Pokemon looked down and started blushing furiously. In the excitement, none of them had noticed. And nobody knew whether to start laughing or screaming as Gladion jumped into some bushes, face red as a Cheri Berry.

_ “...A KNIGHT NEEDS PANTS!  _ **_NOW_ ** _!” _

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Shopping with Lusamine after all this time felt...awkward. And not in the way it might usually be, like her buying out an entire section of merchandise from a show she got into or something. 

  
  


(A part of Lillie dreaded what this would like in a few years where her mother would start going on about how her daughter was ‘becoming a woman!’ That would be a new level of torture)

Even just going out to a farmer’s market to buy produce for dinner felt like Lillie was dragged into an intergalactic adventure. Sure Hobbs insisted he could cook for them, but Lusamine insisted that it was time for her to cook a meal for all of them after so long.

“...Have you seen your brother lately?” Lusamine asked, choosing the perfect leek for soup. “I...want to apologize to him.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, mother.” Lillie told her tersely. 

“Lillie, is this about the whole ‘parent has to make sure their children have food on the table but doesn’t get to spend time with them’’ thing? I mean I appreciate that but I am willing to admit to missteps there.” 

Lillie shook her head and her mother was giving her a concerned parent look. “He messed up too.” 

Her mother looked surprised to see her say that. “I mean….who didn’t? I mean, maybe not Wicke I guess….”

Lillie bit her tongue. She could already see how this conversation would go. 

_ ‘Gladion made this entire mess worse. If he said anything we’d all be fine _ ’ she would say. 

_ ‘Faba started it, so he’s the one at fault.’ _ Her mother would counter. 

_ ‘Gladion could have said  _ anything  _ at all’ _ she would remind her mother. 

_ ‘Your brother is a child, they make mistakes and don’t always react properly _ .’ Her mother would defend Gladion. 

It would go on and on and go nowhere, because her mother was as stubborn as a Mudbray. Just like Gladion. Why couldn’t she see how much pain she... _ he _ put Lillie through? 

“Lillie, did you two have a fight?” Lusamine inquired, and Lillie could see the cogs in her mother's mind piecing things together. His absence, her ‘attitude’, all the things that reminded her that her mother was a scientist and thus intelligent. 

“Yes.” Lillie sighed as Snowy in her hands whimpered.

“Was it bad?” 

“It was  _ definitive.”  _ Lilie replied, not feeling angry at how she gifted Gladion those lilies in the slightest.

Her mother pressed her lips and sighed as they continued to the next vendor. “Things rarely are ever ‘definitive’. Doesn’t matter if they are actions or action figures. You probably think you two will never reconcile. But things rarely ever are like that, especially when you are young. It takes a lot for anyone to ever be ‘done’ with someone, I mean if it was that easy I’d have gotten rid of Faba. You’re two will be talking again in….three to four months, I’m sure of it.” 

“I highly doubt it.” There was no way Lillie was going to forgive Gladion. His actions affected her for  _ years. _

“And I doubt you two will still be fighting by then. In fact let’s make a bet out of it. If you two aren’t talking again and haven’t put that ‘definitive’ fight behind you in...oh three to four months, I’ll resign and put Wicke in charge of everything. But if you two hug and kiss and make up you have to come with me to Hau’oli-Con, in full cosplay of  _ my _ choice.” 

Lillie shivered. She had nothing against ‘cons or people having fun at them, but she had seen the sort of things her mother dressed up as for them. It would be  _ embarrassing _ , and there was a better than little chance that her friends would be there (or at least Sophocles). But if she won…

“Mother, that is too extreme! I...you can’t risk your job, your passion like that.” For all Lillie hated her brother, she would never let others get involved if it would hurt them in some way.

Lusamine shook her head. 

“If you two really can’t reconcile in that much time I’ll have to put even more into being a more active mother. Wicke will understand if it comes to that. I just happen to be confident it won’t.” 

“You're  _ too  _ confident.” 

“Am I? Why don’t you prove me wrong?” her mother was smiling right at her. She could see her mother’s pearly whites clearly. 

“...Deal.” Lillie declared. All she had to do was  _ not  _ forgive her brother and she’d win. Simple. 

She felt a pang of guilt as she said that, but shook her head. If her mother wanted to be that reckless, it wasn’t her fault. They had plenty of money, it wouldn’t be a problem if her mother never worked another day of her life. It wasn’t a problem, not at all. It was just...something that made her feel bad about winning even though she wanted to win. 

Her mother began humming the theme song to a show with  _ very  _ distinct colorful outfits the moment the guilt pangs came, as if the older woman was already imagining the two of them in matching outfits. 

Then as Snowy nuzzled her in an attempt to lift her spirits, Lillie grumbled at how all Gladion was doing was traveling around and fighting and in some cases, getting away from their mother’s behavior.  _ I really hope you're happy where you are, Gladion. _

_ And I REALLY hope that was 100% sarcasm.  _

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Gladion was far from ungrateful, but a part of him hoped that a future car would have an outfit that was more than just  _ white _ . White shirt, white jacket, white jeans, white socks, white shoes...if he thought about the White Knight now, he could practically hear all of his friends back at school giggling and asking him where his steed was or if he’ll have something to protect it from Sharpedos. At least his normal backpack was a different color...if colored in white specks of plaster.

He decided against saying goodbye to Margaret personally. There were...too many roiling feelings there. At least the guards in this car would be keeping a closer eye on her and she wouldn’t try anything like this again. The other denizens apologized for her behavior and how they treated him. Gladion didn’t mind; at least they didn’t kill his friends or tried to mutilate him.

Still...he couldn’t bring himself to throw away the pearls she’d given him. They were Dar’s, after all, the only reminder of her son…and the motive for his quest. A good luck charm, where a maiden gives her beloved knight a handkerchief or gift of trust and wish to come back home safe and sound.

And, in all honesty, pearls were a much better gift than orange lilies.

_ “Gladion...can you...answer something for…me?”  _ Larkspur asked just as Gladion started walking towards the exit door.

Gladion sighed as he turned around and saw that Larkspur had appeared to see him off. He was flattered, but a little baffled that she  _ still _ carried the orange lilies. “What is it?”

_ “You said...orange lilies...mean hatred. Does this mean...that you...hate me?” _

“Wha...no, never! Those flowers were...given to me, and I wanted to put them somewhere...I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were...you know.”

_ “I understand…. But who...gave them..to you?” _

“Someone I  _ thought  _ loved me.” Gladion spat out, trying to brush out the image of Lilie accusing him of just abandoning her out of his mind..

_ “Do I...remind you...of that person?” _

Gladion paused for a moment. “...no. Not in any...bad way, at least.”

_ “Where are...you going?” _

“Forward. To prove that I am as brave a knight as I pledged these last few years of my life to be. And maybe stop the Apex from killing more of these denizens.”

Gladion continued with Larkspur, taking note on how this place wasn’t heavenly place he though it was, until he saw the door. Red with the handles being two half-circles. He was about to place his hands on them before Larkspur spoke up once again.

_ “May I...join you?”  _

Gladion smirked. “...If you can keep up.”

Larkspur slowly smirked.  _ “Don’t think...I’m that slow... _ slowpoke.”

Gladion shook his head, turning around...to see that Larkspur had abruptly teleported several feet in front of him. The sight made him jump and he fell on his butt in shock. He suddenly realized that he had never seen her walking before, and never considered how she was able to move around...

_ “What’s wrong? At least I... didn’t say... ‘Don’t drown’...” _

Gladion stood up, unsure how he felt about how this quest began. With him nearly losing himself and saved by unwarranted hatred and a talking statue. Still, this wasn’t too strange to consider. After all, his favorite character lived in Wonderland where he kept sandwiches in an upside-down backpack, and things never made too much sense there. His hero, the White Knight...

_ A round of laughter rang in Gladion’s head. The teasing and joking sorts from friends who liked to poke fun about his choice of role models. _

Gladion shook his head and smirked. Those friends wouldn’t be laughing when he returned with tales of his crusade to end a horrendous cult.

He opened the door and stepped out and looked at his surroundings. An orange sky, a wasteland, and a bridge that led him to another car and to another world. In the distance, he could see golden tornadoes and green-and-yellow dots speeding towards them. 

“What are those?” he whispered.

_ “I think...they are...souls.” _

“...Souls?”

_ “Those who...are lost on...this train…” _

“And by ‘lost’ do you mean...passengers who never made it back home?”

_ “Yes…” _

Gladion took a deep breath. There was something about that confirmation that...shook him. He could, in fact,  _ die  _ here. But nothing worth doing was completely safe, after all. He had to be brave and fearless.

He glanced at the number on his arm, then beside him to see Larkspur right next to him, smiling. He almost smiled back. This would take some getting used to...but at least his true quest was beginning.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation notes: 
> 
> Dar is Hebrew for "Pearl"
> 
> Omao is short for Omao'mao, the Hawaiian word for "green".


	4. Preview: The Soldier and Death / The Spiral Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preview for the next chapter

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Chapter 3**

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**The Soldier and Death / The Spiral Car**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The view from the cliffside showed a devastated village that seemed to be building itself into a massive spiral, leading into a massive pit at the very centre of the town. It didn’t take much thought for Gladion to figure where he was meant to go. This should be a simple car.

Then he looked up and saw the clouds of spiraling ash in the air somehow turning into  _ screaming faces _ .

“...Let’s get through this place  _ fast _ .” Gladion declared.

_ “I suggest...taking caution.”  _ Larkspur brought up as the two proceeded to walk into the village.  _ “And...to look out.” _

“Why’s that?”

_ “You would have...crushed that...snail-boy.” _

Gladion looked down and leapt up into Larkspur’s arms as he saw just  _ what  _ he’d nearly stepped in. The creature looked like a Magcargo shell had been stitched onto the back half of a human boy whose eyes were growing on stalks as his skin was sweating and bloating and...

“What in the name of Tapu-Koko  _ is this place?! _ ” Gladion squealed.

_ “...The Village of Whirlpools. I’ve heard...many terrible stories.”  _ Larkspur said.  _ “It is said...a spiral entity...draws people into its center and rebuilds self over...and over...and over and...over and…” _

“C-c-c-can’t you teleport us to the exit?!” Gladion tightened his grip around Larkspur.

The statue sighed.  _ “It doesn’t work... like that. Not when you’re... watching or... touching me.” _

Gladion suddenly registered that he looked like that cowardly dog from those ‘mystery-hunter’ cartoons. He was a  _ knight!  _ He quickly got out of Larkspur’s lap and brushed himself off, pointedly not looking at the snails again.

“R-right...quests aren’t always...pleasant, but they must be s-seen through...Let’s g-g-get going.”


End file.
